Cargo tongs



g- 1967 I P. H. SHROPSHIRE, JR 3,337,256

' CARGO TONGS Filed Aug. 30, 1965 4 Sheefs-Sheet 1 Aug. 22, 1967 P. H.SHROPSHIRE, JR 3,337,256

r CARGO T-ONGS Filed Aug. 50, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR.

Aug. 22, 1967 P. H. SHROPSHIRE, JR 3,337,256

CARGO TONGS FiledAug. 30, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. F904 6fifleoPs/l/ee, Je.

Anna/5V5 United States Patent 3,337,256 CARGO TONGS Paul H. Shropshire,Jr., Los Alamitos, Calif., assignor to the United States of America asrepresented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Aug. 30, 1965, Ser. No.483,889 7 Claims. (Cl. 29482) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cargo tongsis provided having a pair of elongate straight shanks of opposite hand,each shank terminating in a boot-like extension which has a recess onthe upper side for receiving cargo net carrying or attaching members.The toe portions of the boot extensions abut when no-load conditionsoccur during cargo transfer. The shank and boot are made of flat metalfor strength and easy accommodation in cargo net webbing, beckets, etc.The recesses have restricted openings to aid in preventing disengagementof carrying members.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to replenishment of ships at sea.

More particularly, this invention relates to cargo tongs for separableengagement with a cargo net for use in replenishment of ships at sea.

One of the most diflicult tasks of a ship is replenishment of storeswhile at sea. C-onventionally, the supply ship and the receiving shipwill move in a substantially parallel course at a common speed andprovisions will be conveyed over a high-line between the ships by meansof a hook and net. However, minor deviations in the course of either oneof the ships, caused by the turbulent flow of water therebetween, willcause the high-line to oscillate between a taut and slack position. As aresult, the tension on the hook will fluctuate from a full load to a noload condition. In the latter condition, the pear beckets of the cargonet are liable to be disconnected from the hook, and the net, includingcargo, may be lost to the sea.

To overcome this difiiculty, the hooks are provided with keepers whichretain the pear beckets within the grasp of the hook. However, it isextremely difiicult and time-consuming to disconnect the pear shapedlinks of the net from the grasp of the book when it is provided withthe'conventional keeper. It is to be emphasized that this operation mustbe carried out in the shortest possible time for, in time of war, boththe supply ship and the receiving ship are extremely vulnerable toattack.

Further, the conventional cargo hookis incapable of being short slung tothe netting when the cargo being transported is of the small bulkvariety and shortness must be provided to sustain this function. Ashortener, a four legged sling suspended by a ring, is hooked into thewebbing and the entire load is suspended by a cargo hook slipped intothe shortner ring. By this method, the load is suspended below the rigby swivel, cargo hook, shortner and shortner legs. However, althoughnets are not loaded beyond the 3500 pound limit imposed by burton,housefall, and modified housefall rigs, a considerable margin of safetyis lost when shortners are used to hook into the net webbing. Where thisoccurs, only one strand of nylon supports the load and the safe workingload of the net is reduced by more than 50% under these conditions.

Further disadvantages attributable to the use of short-' ners is due totheir heavy weight and the fact that they contribute towards crewfatigue. At least four men are required to hook the shortners to thenets and because the ring is positioned toward the center of the load,it is awkward to work in hooking on. Also, a number of shortners arerequired on each station, at least four and preferably not less than sixfor continuous transfer. They are also not generally used as intended bythe receiving ship; sometimes legs are unhooked from the net requiringmen outboard of the load. Most significantly, they reduce the margin ofsafety in each load transferred.

In the past, attempts were made to find solutions to the shortnershortcomings. For instance, shortners were permanently spliced into theswivel above the cargo hook to reduce load suspension and still engagethe pear beckets of the nets. This left too low a suspension for thenets and though it was easier to engage and disengage the hooks, fourmen were needed for this purpose. As an alternate, the permanentlyspliced shortners were short hooked into the net webbing. However, fourmen were still required, and engagement and disengagement of the hooksbecame more difficult, and often required personnel outboard of theload.

Further, the spliced-in shortners lead to incorrect return of the netswith subsequent losses of the nets, As a further alternate, the methodof hooking the four pear beckets directly to the cargo hook wasattempted. This gave a short safe load but considerably increased timeand difliculties in the hooking and unhooking operation without areduction in the cube of a net load and four men were still required forthe operation.

These disadvantages are substantially overcome by the present invention,hereinafter described, With particular reference to the transfer ofcargo between ships at sea, which is the most difiicult use situs.However, it is to be understood that the use of the present invention isnot limited to ship to ship cargo transfers, but that the invention hasnumerous advantages when employed in a use where either or both of thesupply and receiving stations are immobile areas.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for use in theefiicient and safe transfer of cargo from a supply station to adischarge station, said device devoid of the difiiculties of the priorart.

Another object is to provide a device of light construction forseparable engagement with the pear beckets of a cargo net in theeffective and speedy transfer of cargo from a shipboard supply stationto a shipboard receiving station.

A further object is to provide a device for separable engagement withthe webbing of a cargo net whenever necessity requires short suspension.

Otherobjects and many attendant advantages of this invention will bereadily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference tothe following detailed description when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawing, wherein FIG. 1 is a side view of the device ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the device traversing a highline under afull-load condition;

FIG. 4 is a view showing the device traversing a highline during aninterval when a no-load condition is experienced;

FIG. 5 is a view of the device showing its characteristic when it hascome to rest at the receiving station.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of tongs 11 are supported in a pivotalfashion by a pin -12 and shackle 13. The shackle has a pair of legs 14and 15 extending in a parallel spaced relationship defining a spacetherebetween into which the tongs are fitted. A pin 12 passesperpendicu- 3 larly through each of the legs of the shackle and a hole17 in each of the upper arms of the tongs.

The tongs 11 consist of two identical hook elements 18 and 19 having anupper portion or shank 20 terminating in a toe portion 21 with a curvedportion 22 therebetween subtending an arc of more than 180. Theextremital end or toe portion 21 of the hook, adjacent the curvedportion 22 thereof, faces the shank or arm 20 of the hook and forms anopening therewith to the curved portion 22 of the hook for beckets orstraps of a cargo net.

The shank or arm 20 of the hook may also be provided with a becketdeflector 24, which will form a more restricted opening with the toeportion 21 of the hook. With this modification, the straps or beckets ofthe net, which lie in the curved portion of the hook, will be preventedfrom riding up the shank 20 of the arm.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the tongs 11 are adapted tovertically grasp a cargo net 26 by its pear beckets 27 and to transportthem in a horizontal fashion from one vessel to another by means of ahigh line 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, it is the nature of the tongs, due to theircenter of gravity and structural characteristics, to close to anabutting position under a no-load condition. In this manner, the curvedportion 22 of one of the hooks adjacent the toe 21 thereof abuts thecurved portion 22 of the other hook adjacent the toe 21 thereof in afashion generally resembling a pair of ice tongs.

A no-load condition, under which the tongs close, is generally thecondition that takes place when the high-line oscillates between a tautand a slack position as the ships move along on substantially parallelcourses at approximately the same speed.

When a full loaded condition prevails, the tongs will open, as shown inFIG. 3, to a natural angle determined by the bulk and weight of thesuspended load and the length of the suspension straps.

Further, when the tongs are set down on the top of the load, as shown inFIG. 5, the legs thereof will open naturally to their full spreadallowing free access to the pear beckets of the net.

The attendant advantages of the tongs include their attachment todesigned points of the nets giving a greater margin of safety. In thismanner, they give a sufiiciently short suspension to the load in orderto readily clear the decks or bulwarks of any ship. Due to theirstructure, they facilitate separable engagement of the load and speedthis operation. In fact, fewer men are required to connect anddisconnect the tongs from the net and personnel are not requiredoutboard or inboard of loads for these operations which is a significantsafety feature.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present inventionare possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

I claim:

1. A coupling device adapted to facilitate hooking and unhookingoperations particularly in relation to cargo nets while increasingsafety and reducing load loss comprising:

a pair of oppositely disposed substantially identical hook membersmounted upon a common pivot;

said hook members each having a hook end, a pivot end and an elongatesubstantially fiat and straight shank interconnecting said hook andpivot ends;

said shanks forming an acute angle at said pivot ends when in theno-load condition;

said hook ends extending inwardly from said shanks at the base thereofand disposed substantially transverse to the longitudinal centerlinethereof; said hook ends abutting at a common point in the peripherythereof when in the closed position; and

said hook ends having an inwardly curved attachment receiving recesssubtending an arc of more than 180 at the outer extremities thereof;

whereby disengegement of the coupling device especially underintermittent no-load conditions is substantially prevented.

2. The coupling device of claim 1 wherein said hook ends further includea toe at the extremital end of the curved recess thereof.

3. The coupling device of claim 2 wherein said hook ends further includemeans opposite said toe for restricting the hook end recess opening soas to further curtail the possible disengagement of the hook ends.

4. The coupling device of claim 3 wherein said shanks may be pivotedopen to angles exceeding therebetween thereby enabling the device toengage a plurality of spaced cargo net attachment means from a proneposition on a netted cargo.

5. The coupling device of claim 4 wherein said shanks and said hook endsare substantially rectangular in cross section so as to be readilyinsertable through cargo net attachment means such as pear-shapedbeckets.

6. The coupling device of claim 5 wherein the opening thereof defined bysaid toe and said restricting means is disposed substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of said shank.

7. The coupling device of claim 6 wherein each of said hook end recessesis adapted to receive at least two cargo net beckets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,813 4/1900 Edholm 24232 X1,016,260 2/1912 Fuchs 294-78 X 1,494,289 5/1924 Round M 24-2305 FOREIGNPATENTS 709,372 8/1941 Germany.

404,875 1/1934 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

HUGO O. SCHULZ, Examiner.

G. F. ABRAHAM, Assistant Examiner.

1. A COUPLING DEVICE ADAPTED TO FACILITATE HOOKING AND UNHOOKINGOPERATIONS PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO CARGO NETS WHILE INCREASINGSAFETY AND REDUCING LOAD LOSS COMPRISING: A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY DISPOSEDSUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL HOOK MEMBERS MOUNTED UPON A COMMON PIVOT; SAIDHOOK MEMBERS EACH HAVING A HOOK END, A PIVOT END AND AN ELONGATESUBSTANTIALLY FLAT AND STRAIGHT SHANK INTERCONNECTING SAID HOOK ANDPIVOT ENDS; SAID SHANKS FORMING AN ACUTE ANGLE AT SAID PIVOT ENDS WHENIN THE NO-LOAD CONDITION; SAID HOOK ENDS EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM SAIDSHANKS AT THE BASE THEREOF AND DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE TO THELONGITUDINAL CENTERLINE THEREOF; SAID HOOK ENDS ABUTTING AT A COMMONPOINT IN THE PERIPHERY THEREOF WHEN IN THE CLOSED POSITION; AND SAIDHOOK ENDS HAVING AN INWARDLY CURVED ATTACHMENT RECEIVING RECESSSUBTENDING AN ARC OF MORE THAN 180* AT THE OUTER EXTREMITIES THEREOF;WHEREBY DISENGEGEMENT OF THE COUPLING DEVICE ESPECIALLY UNDERINTERMITTENT NO-LOAD CONDITIONS IN SUBSTANTIALLY PREVENTED.